warriorsfanficfandomcom-20200213-history
The Dreamer/Part Two
Waterpaw I stared back into the pitless eyes of this traitor. I had to kill him. I couldn't let him live, he would wreck havoc if he did. I felt Airpaw trembling beside me. Then it hit me: 'You love him.' I gasped. 'Airpaw...no.' I stared, shocked at her mournful expression. Echo stood behind me, holding his breath. 'Waterpaw-' 'Shut up, traitor.' I snarled. 'Leave me alone.' I turned back to Airpaw. 'You can't lke him, Airpaw. He's a betrayer, he helped DarkClan.' Airpaw glared at me, then moved her position so she was closer to Echo. Suddenly, I felt like a bubble was being pressed through the air. I recognised this motion. 'Your shield,' I hissed. 'Don't protect him. He's not worth it.' Rage bubbled up inside me, and spilled over my internal wall. My guard was down. Cats' emotions flooded through me, too strong, too bright. 'Stop!' I wailed. 'Leave me!' I felt pain, anger and sorrow. I felt my own sadness at my mother's death, Airpaw's protection, Echo's wariness. I battled on the floor, my internal fight, much like the one around me. I tried to rebuild my block, but the power of Emotion is too strong, even for me. I felt like I could die there, on the ground. Killed by my own powers. I fell to the floor, twitching and writhing. Through my blurred eyes I could see Airpaw looking concerned, standing over me. I hurt everywhere, my tail, my ears, every cat's injury on one body, though you could see no scars. I tried to look through my pain. Where was Echo? He hadn't gone, had he? I quickly regained my vision, and I saw a slim black shape slipping throught the ferns. It was Echo! He had returned to his natural appearance and he was escaping. Biting down hard on my tongue to prevent my anger, I sprinted into the forest after Echo. I could hear Airpaw crying after me, but something was pulsing in my limbs that forced me to keep running. All my focus was trained on the lithe black shape twisting in front of me, until suddenly, Echo dissapeared, just like that. I skidded to a halt, sinking my claws into the muddy earth. Rain began to fall again. I didn't know what the traitor had done, but a plan formed in my head. If I could think I wasn't there, maybe he would reveal himself! Silently, I quickly dug my claws into the sturdiest tree that was nearby. I began to climb, higher and higher, until I began to reach the frail branches at the top of the oak. From here, I could see all around StormClan territory. I waited, with baited breath, to see any movement, any sign that Echo was still here. A bush shivered below, but it was only a vole. The scent flooding from it was so tempting, we hadn't had any good fresh kill for moons. My attention on the prey, I didn't notice a black shadowy shape flicker at the edge of my perception. I whirled round, just in time to see Echo's slim form dissapear under a large hazel tree. Bunching up my muscles, I sorang onto the next tree, carefully balancing my weight; it was a long way down. I crawled across the branches and leapt from tree to tree like a squirrel, until I was directly above Echo. He was resting in a wide open clearing below me. I twitched my whiskers. I was ready. Very carefully, I slid along the spindly branch I was resting on. I had to make sure my weight was rescuing equally on each paw. I was scared of jumping, the ground was several fox-lengths down below. Bracing myself, I prepared to ambush Echo, until suddenly... SNAP. The twig I was holding on to with all my might gave way, and I was tumbling down, and down, and down, the wind smacking my body painfully,and my paws flailing helplessly. I tried to squeeze my eyes shut, but my mind seemed to have frozen over, it wasn't listening to anything I said. My claws were still clinging to the thin, and now snapped, branch, as if it was going to save me. I screamed, screamed and screamed, and suddenly Echo was aware of me, about to fall on top of him, and he darted away into the forest. And that was the last thing I saw. ---- In the dream, I was floating, weightless. I glided across the woods, my paws not touching the ground. I felt airy, like I wasn't really alive. Then it hit me- I was dead and I was in StarClan. I panicked. ''No, ''I said. ''No, I'm too young to die. ''My paws seemed to lead me towards a clearing within the undergrowth, where a cat was waiting for me. Her cream pelt was speckled with stars, her outline shining. Her eyes glimmered with wisdom and knowlege, sorrow and pain. Sadness welled up inside me. It was my mother, Redpoison, here, standing before me, alive, yet dead. 'Mother,' i whispered, barely making a sound. She purred, but it was a mournful noise. 'You've been so brave,' she said, licking my ear gently. 'Come so far. But now is the end.' 'You mean- I'm ''dead?' ''I asked, trembling with sadness. 'Not yet, Your place in StarClan has not yet been filled.' I looked round. Hundreds of StarClan cats had appeared, and next near the edge was a shimmery outline that was throbbing, like the cat was almost there. 'You've got to wake up now,' Redpoison told me. 'I don't want to leave.' 'Go. Now. Don't live in the past.' And I slowly drifted away, my heart aching. END OF PART TWO.